Tomares mauretanicus

Tomares mauretanicus, the Moroccan hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae.

Tomares mauretanicus
Living specimen
Male (top) and female
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Tomares
Species:
T. mauretanicus
Binomial name
Tomares mauretanicus
(H. Lucas, 1849)[1]
Synonyms
  • Polyommatus mauretanicus H. Lucas, 1849
  • Polyommatus mauretanicus var. undulatus Gerhard, 1853
  • Thestor mauretanicus ab. sabulosus Oberthür, 1910
  • Thestor mauretanicus var. boisduvali Oberthür, 1910
  • Thestor mauretanicus ab. tristis Oberthür, 1915
  • Thestor mauretanicus f. subtus-reductus Zopp, 1954
  • Thestor mauretanicus f. subtus-confluens Zopp, 1954
  • Thestor mauretanicus f. maroccanus Zopp, 1954
  • Tomares mauretanicus antonius Brevignon, 1985

Description

The wingspan is 28–30 mm.

Habitat

Grassy places from sea level to 2400 m

Distribution

It is found only in northern Africa.

Life cycle and behaviour

The butterfly flies from January to March. In the High Atlas it flies into June.

The larvae feed on Hippocrepis multisiliquosa, Hippocrepis minor, Hedysarum pallidum, Astragalus epiglottis and Astragalus pentaglottis. The eggs are laid in clusters on the leaves of the host plant. The species flies on hot, dry hillsides and it has been known to 'hilltop'.

Subspecies

References
  1. Savela, Markku (March 10, 2019). "Tomares mauretanicus (Lucas, 1849)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  2. parc naturel d'Ifrane Archived 2009-04-12 at the Wayback Machine
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Further reading
  • Higgins, L. G. and N. D. Riley (1971). Europas dagsommerfugle. Gads Forlag.
  • Tennent, John (1996). The Butterflies of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Gem Publishing Company.
  • Tolman, Tom (1997). Europas sommerfugle. Gads Forlag.


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